Thorpe Park, styled THORPE PARK Resort, is a theme park with a temporary hotel in between the towns of Chertsey and Staines, Surrey, England, UK. It is operated and owned by Merlin Entertainments. After demolition of the Thorpe Park Estate in the 1930s, the site became a gravel pit.

Thorpe Park was built in 1979 on the gravel pit which was partially flooded, creating a water-based theme for the park. This essentially allows guests to view the park as an island, which is where the 'island like no other' slogan originates from.

The park is mainly geared towards a young adult/teenage audience due to the vast majority of signature attractions being roller coasters and thrill rides. The tallest of these being Stealth, an Intamin Accelerator Coaster, which launches riders from 0-80 mph in 1.8 seconds sending them 205 ft into the air. The newest is The Swarm, which is the only B&M wing rider coaster in the UK, has a total of 5 inversions and is 127 ft tall.Thorpe park is Europe's 3rd most extreme theme park

The demolition of the Thorpe Park Estate in the 1930s saw the site transform into a gravel pit, originally owned by Ready Mixed Concrete Limited. In the late 1970s they decided to flood part of the site and create an educational theme park. The park opened as a small attraction, building slowly up to RMCs first large installation of "X:\No Way Out" in 1996. In 1998, The Tussauds Group bought the park (they also owned the nearby Chessington World of Adventures). From the outset the park started opening key attractions such as Tidal Wave in 2000, Colossus in 2002, Nemesis Inferno in 2003 and Stealth in 2006.[citation needed]

In 2007, Merlin Entertainments (a subsidiary of Blackstone Investment Group) bought the Tussauds Group;[1] the attraction target market was moved towards a teenage audience with large investment in the form of rides such as SAW: The Ride and SWARM. This was to prevent it competing with Legoland Windsor, and Chessington World of Adventures Resort, both within close proximity of Thorpe Park; Legoland was to cater for children and Chessington World of Adventures Resort was to have a variety of attractions.

As of 2014, Thorpe Park Resort operates three yearly events. Ministry of Sound club nights in the Port Atlantis Dome occur one Saturday night a month from April to September. These club nights feature well known music DJs playing a variety of themed nights. Summer Nights is when the park reopens after a normal day on Friday and Saturday Nights in July and August from 7pm-10pm for some late-night rides consisting of The Swarm, SAW - The Ride, Stealth, Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, X and others.

Fright Nights, formerly "Fright Nites" is Thorpe Park's halloween event and also its largest. It's an annual event that has been running at Thorpe Park since 2002, celebrating Halloween with the park staying open until late at night, as well as operating a range of temporary halloween attractions. Roaming actors in costume or with make up can also be found around the park.[2]

In 2013, Fright Nights was relaunched with a horror movie theme, courtesy of a three-year contract with Lionsgate. All of the pre-existing Fright Nights attractions were removed with the exception of The Asylum to make way for new horror-film themed attractions.

An Intamin launch coaster themed around 1950s drag racing, stands at 205 ft tall and goes from 0 - 80 mph in 1.8 secs. Has the fastest acceleration of any coaster in Europe and is the tallest launched coaster in the UK. Height Limit 1.4

Thorpe Park is split into themed areas: Amity Cove, Calypso Quay/ The Jungle, Canada Creek, Lost City, Swarm Island and Angry Birds Land. Amity Cove is themed as a 1950s fishing village that has been left devastated by a tidal wave. The attractions in this area are: Tidal Wave, Stealth, Flying FishStorm in a TeacupDepth Charge, Wet Wet Wet, Amity Beach and Storm Surge. Canada Creek opened in 1989 themed around the Canadian Rockies. This area has the UK's tallest water ride, called Loggers Leap, the world's only Sky Swat: Slammer, and the small train ride named the Rocky Express. Canada Creek is also home to the now defunct Canada Creek Railway, which closed in late 2011. Also home to SAW-the ride. Calypso Quay/The Jungle is an area in the park themed around a tropical caribbean jungle, with a volcano as its centrepiece. Four rides reside within this area: Nemesis Inferno, Mr Monkey's Banana Ride, Rumba Rapids and the I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Maze. Lost City opened in 2001 and is themed around an ancient Aztec land. Main attractions include: Colossus, Quantum, Rush, X, Samurai, Vortex, Zodiac. The Swarm Island is a new area for 2012, it paints a picture of an apocalyptic end to the world with the roller coaster The Swarm. Angry Birds Land is the newest area and opened on 24 May 2014, and is themed around the Angry Birds video game franchise. Attractions include: Angry Birds 4D, Detonator: Bombs Away and King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems.

Amity Cove has an American 1950s fishing village rheme that has recently been hit by a tidal wave. With the attraction Tidal Wave as the key attraction. The Area, when opened in 2000 contained only a Tidal Wave, KFC and a games stand. It was extended in 2006 with the arrival of the Stealth rollercoaster located behind Tidal Wave, adding with the pre-existing Storm in a Tea Cup ride to Amity Cove's lineup. In 2007 the Flying Fish rollercoaster was moved into Amity Cove, increasing the attraction list. In 2011 Storm Surge opened on the old Octopus Garde siten. Storm in a Teacup is located near Stealth. Following the addition of Angry Birds Land in 2014, the area is now split in two, with guests having to go through Angry Birds Land in order to reach Stealth and Storm in a Teacup. Near the Flying fish there is Depth Charge, Wet Wet Wet, and the Amity Beach.

Calypso Quay/The Jungle is a Caribbean jungle themed area with four rides. The key attraction is Nemesis Inferno, a B&M inverted coaster themed around a volcano. Mr Monkey's Banana Ride is also in the area, near to the I'm a Celebrity Get Me out of Here Maze attraction. Rumba Rapids water rapids ride, and is the oldest attraction in the park. Part of the area was originally known as Ranger County, but after the removal of the Carousel in late 2014, the areas were merged due to having a similar theme.

The Lost City theme is that of ruins of a recently unearthed Atlantean civilisation with the Colossus rollercoaster as the main attraction opening in 2002. The area opened in 2001 with the Vortex and Zodiac rides as the only attractions. In 2003 Quantum, a magic carpet ride opened. Two more attractions have since joined the rides line up with Samurai opening after being moved from the also Merlin owned Chessington World of Adventures in 2004 and Rush an S&S Screamin' Swing opening in 2005. In 2013 the X rollercoaster was renamed and moved to the area.

Canada Creek opened in 1989 and is themed around the Canadian Rockies. It has three attractions, a Burger King and the Wild Wings Noodle Bar. The main attraction in the area is Loggers Leap a Macklog flume with a double drop. The area also has the Rocky Express Sea Storm ride. Located just outside of the area is SAW - The Ride, a horror themed rollercoaster based on the SAW franchise.

Angry Birds Land opened on 24 May 2014 and is based on the Angry Birds video game. Attractions include: Angry Birds 4D, King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems, and Detonator: Bombs Away (previously known as Detonator).

The Thorpe Shark hotel is themed around a metal shark, made from scrap metal, that appears to be rising out of the lake. The hotel is linked to the Dome. It is also the entry point into the park.[citation needed]

In 2010, the park outlined a 5-year development plan. The development plan highlighted a potential developmental area for a new roller coaster, with a target opening ate of 2015, but has since been delayed.

In October 2014, the park submitted plans for an indoor attraction, titled "Project Whitechurch",due to open by the summer of 2016. Featuring a pre-show area and a post-ride shop, the ride would replace the old arena as well as Chief Ranger's Carousel.[4]

On 27 March 2015, Thorpe Park Resort opened the worlds first "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!" maze, set in the building which was home to Studio 13 during Fright Nights 2014. The attraction is home to three of the popular television programs Bushtucker Trails, ncluding The Chambers Of Horror and Celebrity Cyclone. The attraction was announced on 11 February 2015 on social media websites, following a series of hints posted by Thorpe Park on their Twitter and Facebook pages. The maze has been fitted with the latest technology and special effects, including multisensory 'leg ticklers' and a vibrating bridge walk way.[5]